Wash, Rinse, Dry, Complete - The Dyson Airblade Tap

Never again will you have to drip dry your hands when your towel is missing on laundry day, and the embarassment of exiting a public bathroom with awkwardly wet hands is over, because the ingenius minds at Dyson have done it yet again. For as long as bathrooms have had sinks and hands have needed washing, the tap for washing and the method for drying (towel, hand dryer, or the strange, rotating, perpetually damp cloth) have been kept separate. In one fell swoop of design inspiration, that universal two-part process has been combined in the Dyson Airblade Tap. In typical fashion, just as in Dyson's revolutionary vacuums and heaters, the perennial titan of innovation did not create a completely new product or idea, they simply perfected an earlier concept in a way that can truly be called "game-changing".

Airblade Tap Model

The Airblade Tap is simple in theory, elegant in appearance, and light-years ahead of the competition. Touchless taps and hand dryers triggered by sensors are nothing new, but combining the two so seamlessly certainly is. The Airblade Tap contains the Dyson digital motor, a diamond of engineering that can suck in 28 liters of air per second, stream it through a Hepa Filter, and use that 99.7% purified air to strip the water from your hands in less than 15 seconds at 450 mph. The motor has only 3 moving parts, so this energy-efficient wonder can operate without worries of parts quickly breaking down through constant friction, and it's carbon footprint is impressively low, releasing 67% less CO2 than most other hand dryers (not to mention eliminating the need for paper towels).The sensors also reduce wasted water and motor functioning, unlike taps and hand dryers which operate for a set amount of time once activated.

Airblade Tap with Motor Functions

The Airblade Tap has been released in some public places and high-brow loos around the UK, and has received glowing reviews, as it should. When using a public bathroom, how often do you find the paper towel dispensers empty? Even more frustrating is when the hand dryers are broken, or the weak streams of lukewarm air simply rearrange the water on your hands. The Airblade Tap ensures that you can leave germ-ridden pits (a.k.a. public bathrooms) without the discomfort of damp hands, or the streaky trousers from where you wiped off the excess water.

Now that the Airblade Tap is being sold for home use, I think the benefits have become even more obvious. In your personal bathroom, the habit of leaving damp towels to air-dry and be re-used for days or weeks at a time makes them veritable breeding grounds for germs of all kinds. That accidental and oft-ignored filth gets placed right back on your "clean" hands after washing. Besides making hand towels obsolete, the Airblade Tap also eliminates those irritating water droplets that mark your movements like a bathroom treasure map on the sink, counter, and toilet seat. The infrared sensors for washing and drying also add a touch of touchless sophistication to private bathrooms normally limited to traditional faucets, knobs, and handles.

In-Home Airblade Tap

Some people may balk at the price (approximately $1,500), but frankly, if you want the best, you should be prepared to pay for it. Dyson has made its' name in the world of technology and consumer innovation by consistently releasing products that remain competitive or superior for long periods of time. (For example, Dyson's cyclone vacuum technology, that first gained fame in 1983, is still relevant and influential in many product designs of today). In our age of obsolescence, when every new computer or smart phone is outdone by something smaller, faster, or sexier within six months, I feel confident that Dyson has once again bucked that trend and found a way to sit at the top of their respective food chain for a long time to come.

However, the question remains - Are innovations of form and function worth the extra coins to consumers? What do you think? Would you pony up the cash to move into the future? Or is Dyson's Airblade Tap more novelty than necessity?